Twisted Justice
by LegenDarius116
Summary: Never get too complacent, for the El Search Party would soon learn that not every demon encounter would be a cakewalk. This fic is based off of the Broadway song, Cell Block Tango. For prompt at EFB server. This is an ass summary, pls hab merci it's 3am and I'm brain dead.


**Twisted Justice**

"H-help! Help meeeee!" came the burning cries of a perishing soldier, crawling on the ground as the flames licked away at his flesh.

"Rena, we need some help over here!" hollered a red-coated knight over the chaos. Another Gate of Darkness had appeared near the smithing town of Lanox, spawning a huge army of those stone-skinned creatures.

The elf responded, swiftly leaping to his position. She knelt over the burning man, the soft aura of Airelinna enveloping them. But despite the elven maiden's magical care, the flames only grew stronger, fully consuming the man as he let out his last, pitiful cries.

"Damn it!" cursed Elsword, pounding the ground with his fists. Rena put a sympathetic hand on his shoulder.

"Sometimes it's too late to save a man," she lamented. "Let's go, Elsword… The other's need help." At her words, the sounds of the world around them returned. The elven archer reached out her hand towards him, and the knight took it. That was another noble soul fallen prey to the demons' hunger for conquest, and the thought of it filled the young knight with wrath. He squeezed the hilt of his broadsword and leaped headfirst into the fiery fray with Rena following close behind him.

Just as the sun burned relentlessly overhead with its heat, so did the fighting burn throughout the day. Not a minute passed without a battle cry, followed by an exchange of blows and deadly magic. In the middle of it all, the knight and a certain blonde-haired gunman stood back to back against the encroaching foe.

"You ready for another round, Chung?" Elsword asked his companion. "Hope you're not getting tired."

"In your dreams," he fired back, spinning the cylinders on his Silver Shooters. "Most kills drinks for free."

The flash of a thin katana cut into the conversation, followed by the deep voice of its wielder. "Aren't you a little young to drink?"

Chung huffed, a smirk forming on his lips. "In a land like this, what is law, Raven?"

The man didn't seem too amused by his joke. "The only thing that keeps us together. Now go."

On his command, the three of them split, each one going to his own direction. Elsword happened upon an entourage of golems, blue flames bursting from the cracks in their stone. The knight plunged his sword into the ground, pumping his El Energy into the earth like a seismic charge. The demons' march was interrupted when the ground beneath them quaked, the waves vibrating into their bodies and shattering them immediately. On Chung's side, wave after wave of bullets and cannonballs from his Destroyer cannon pelted the rocky demons. The last man, Raven, seemed to be standing still as creatures in dark blue skin leaped at him. But not of them could touch him. It was as if a force field surrounded him, and all who touched its deadly surface was cleaved in two.

Silence fell upon the land once more, interrupted only by the heavy breathing of the three men as they stood amidst a mass grave of evil creatures.

"Tired already?" Chung teased. "Looks like I'm-"

"Shhh…" Raven hissed. Chung quickly quieted himself, ears perking up to listen. The air whistled its tunes while the pebbles on the ground rolled along nonchalantly.

"What is it?" Chung whispered.

"It's too quiet."

"So?"

"Raven's right," chimed in Elsword. "All day there had been endless waves of grunts. Why the sudden silence?"

"Maybe the Rena and the rest found the Gate and shut it down?" Suggested Chung.

"Maybe." Raven flicked the blood off his sword and carefully slid it into its scabbard. "Let's meet up with them.'

The trio headed east, past mountains and mountains of smoking boulders and pebbles. The creatures' demonic auras were long gone, but the stench they left on the land was uncanny, perhaps even irreversible. None of them could pinpoint it, but each of them had a sense that after today, this land would never again be fruitful, as it was in the old legends.

Time passed without a single sound of warfare. No cries. No roars. No sounds of spells being cast. No great balls of light being hurled. Nothing but the sound of their heartbeats as they treaded the wilderness.

They climbed over a dusty hill only to see Rena limping towards them, her corset singed and parts of her mini skirt torn. Raven's eyes widened seeing her and he immediately rushed to her aid, catching her in his arms.

"Rena, what happened?" He asked her urgently but gently.

"They * _cough_ * they…"

"Come on, talk to me…"

"They pulled back through the Gate, and then… Another wave of demons came out and started wrecking us." The archer fell into a coughing fit after uttering her feeble words. Raven slung her slender arm over his shoulder, gently leading her to a safe place behind a rock.

"Raven…" She called out to him from her sitting position. "Don't leave…"

The man pursed his lips, kneeling down to face her. "I need to help them. Here…" He leaned forward and placed a gentle, comforting kiss on her lips. "You'll be safe here." The elven woman frowned but reluctantly nodded.

When Raven regrouped with Chung and Elsword, they had already pushed forward to where their last teammate was, still fighting. A purple-haired girl donned in a white dress stood with her back. She held her arms out, both hands gripping an ornate battle staff with a heart at the end flanked by a pair of angel wings. She concentrated on the magical force field before her, deflecting enemy spells to buy the others time.

"Aisha, we're here!" Elsword called out to her.

Without turning back, the girl leaped backward as the magical shield disintegrated. She gathered all of the mana that her shield had stored and hurled it with all her might. The magical fireball flew through the air like a great boulder, above the armies of demons and colliding straight with the Gate of Darkness. There was a quaking explosion as the fireball came into contact with the portal, beams of dusty light erupting into the sky as the Gate came crashing down.

"Finally!" She snapped, heaving. "My mana reserves almost ran out!"

Raven ignored her complaints, instead regrouping with her and getting into position to take on the remainder of the demon force. The same volcanic creatures that had been attacking them all day came at them again, however, mixed into their crowd were a few demons that stood out. They were hunched, blobby creatures that resembled snails, their slimy skin glimmering in the midday sun. They wore large red overcoats, marked with neon blue paths that traveled from their hands and converging at the heart.

A familiar _shing_ resounded when the swordsman drew his katana, gripping its long hilt tightly. The entire team pushed together because their lack of mana forced them to resort to brutal, close quarters combat. Aisha used her deft movements to avoid the golems' fiery attacks, as well as the slime mages that seemed to have some sort of mana sapping ability. The way a force field of light would suddenly appear and then shrink towards their bodies just spelled out bad news for the whole party, but especially for the purple-haired mage.

The army spread out like a blob, threatening to engulf the party and engage them on all sides. Soon they had created a ring of fire around them. The ring began closing them on, even to the point that some of the golem creatures were totally crushed to make room. Cornered like this, Raven swung his sword faster, ignoring the cries of pain that flared up in his muscles. Elsword did the same, plunging his sword into the ground every so often to beat back the incoming wall of hellfire.

They were able to push them back, whittling away at the pawns and leaving the slime mages. For creatures that looked so blobby and slow, they were surprisingly fast, maneuvering deftly to advantageous positions. Once again they stood back to back, facing outward so that none of them were flanked. Chung and Aisha did most of the work in this battle, using their ranged abilities to deal the most damage.

Fireballs were hurled their way, and they were like hail mixed with fire and blood. This broke their circle formation, each person juking and weaving to avoid the lethal projectiles while still being able to stay near each other. Sensing their strategy, two of the mages hung back as they cast a dual spell under the cover of their brethren.

 _Impulse._

While all their backs were turned, a small blue-green light materialized, erupting into a burst of wind that sent the team flying right into the pack of mages. Sent into a panic, both Elsword and Raven began swinging wildly, turning often to beat back enemies and to create space for themselves. Chung pointed one of his revolvers skyward and shrieked, a bright dome of light surrounding him. The light burned all his enemies around him, leaving them sizzling in the sand after it faded.

"Aieee!" Screeched Aisha over the crowd. Elsword was sent into a panic, hearing her scream. He began carving a path towards her, the earth rumbling under his sword.

"Aisha!" He called out to her. "I'm coming!"

"Just be careful!" Shouted Raven as he managed to regroup with Chung, locking their backs together once more.

Elsword's heart was pumping inside his ears as he swung his sword relentlessly, slicing through the fatty flesh of the slime mages. Ther bodies tainted the earth beneath them, slowing the Knight's advance. But it all paid off when he was finally able to see the purple haired witch safe and sound.

"Iyaaaaaaaaaaa!" Came two deathly screams from the crowd of enemies to the east.

Chung and Raven turned back in alarm, seeing a pillar of bright flames erupting up from a circle of slime mages. The sudden surge of magical aura the felt from the explosion made them stumble sideways, but they kept their footing.

Without a word, Chung and Raven rushed to their friends. The blonde slammed three cannonballs into his Destroyer and held the trigger. Their ears nearly exploded when Chung's Destroyer turned bright of sudden as if it were about to melt. Bright blue exhaust poured forth from the backside of the cannon, propelling the two forward towards their teammates.

The rocket fuel fizzled out, but the two landed in stride. Chung loaded another cannonball and slammed the ground with his cannon, pulling the trigger and sending mini seismic waves outwards to knock back the enemy. With space to move, Raven rushed forward, his arms blurring in movement and his blade glimmering in the sunlight as it sliced everything in its path.

"Grr, they're too far apart! Chung, bring them together!"

"On it!" Chung quickly drank a small mana potion, pointing his gun to the sky once more. "Sharpshooter Syndrome!"

The bright dome of light burned once more, sucking in the slime mages towards its center. While the light was active, Raven closed his eyes and crushed a strange, orb-like object in its hand. Tiny particles of El flowed from the strange object to his body, causing it to glow. Crouching, the swordsman gripped the hilt of his blade as he prepared his technique.

"Extreme Blade!" The light disappeared, replaced by a darkness that blanketed the earth, eclipsing the sun and any light that would dare try to defy it. Like a shadow in the night, he passed through the mass of demons that had been stuck together from Chung's Sharpshooter Syndrome. The world around him turned dark as only the demons came into focus. His eyes became sharp as the blade he wielded. His arms turned into nebulous blurs as he performed his attack, slashing and slicing at the demons at a speed even gods would envy.

Through the darkness, the sword ripped through space, so that some of Raven's previous slashes reappeared to wreak more havoc. When the darkness finally lifted, the light a smoking pile of dead bodies all lined up in a neat circle, almost like the arrangement of boulders at Stonehenge. Heaving from exhaustion, the swordsman and the cannoneer slowly walked forward towards their friends.

Aisha was holding Elsword in her arms, her face hidden by shadows and purple locks.

"Aisha, is he okay?" asked Raven.

She merely shook her head, holding his body to the light. 4th-degree burn marks were everywhere, making his skin look like the desolate wilderness around them.

Raven slowed to a crawl and knelt before the boy. He checked his pulse, shaking his head in grief at the loss.

"Dammit!" Chung cursed the sky. "They'll pay for this!"

"They already did, Chung…" Raven lamented. "But it doesn't change the fact."

Chung calmed down and sighed, pursing his lips at his best friend's dead body.

"He had the most kills…" Chung spoke again, his tone now sad like Raven's. "I would've been happy to buy him all the drinks he wanted."

Raven reached over and patted the boy's back. Ignoring him, Chung slowly produced a Vigor Potion from his cloak, feebly opening the bottle and letting the liquid fall on Elsword's lips.

"Chung…" Raven reached out to stop him. "Chung, stop…"

The boy relented, putting the cap back on and saving the rest of the potion. The two took Aisha and the body and returned uphill, back to where Rena was.

"How did it go?" Rena asked.

Raven merely looked at her with a tired expression, shaking his head.

"What happened?"

"Elsword…"

The elf gasped, quickly getting on her feet and meeting Chung and Aisha who were carrying the body. At the sight, she dropped to her knees and broke into a tirade of violent sobs. Afterward, they all did.

The city of Lanox had heard of their victories in the field, welcoming the party as they were coming through the gate. But they congratulations quickly fizzled when they saw that they had lost one of their own. On the way back, the party had fashioned a crude box out of some dead trees to function as a makeshift coffin for Elsword, carrying it slowly back to town. Edel stepped forward, giving them her deepest condolences and rewarding them richly for their service.

Nevertheless, the city was in mourning. The food they had prepared had been boxed away. Balloons and confetti left out in the streets like unwanted toys. Silence had plagued the city, filling it with the creepy ambiance of flowing magma and the occasional ruffling of a dead tumbleweed.

The next few days passed like blurs, like little dreams that weren't real.

Raven couldn't keep Elsword's death out of his thoughts. It plagued him just like silence plagued the city of Lanox. He sat at a table staring out the window, eyes staring a thousand yards into nowhere in particular as his thoughts ran by.

"Aren't you going to eat, Raven?" Rena asked feebly. "Your breakfast is getting cold…"

Raven shook his head, snapping out of his daze.

"Baby…" The elf looked even more worried for him.

"I just… Can't shake the feeling," he finally answered her.

"Feeling? What do you mean feeling?"

"There was something suspicious about Elsword's death. I can't quite put my finger on it, but… I don't know. The way he died was kind of… weird."

"Weird?"

"Yeah, weird."

Rena, unnerved by her husband's words, nervously takes a bite of her toast. "What do you mean weird? I thought the demon mages were the ones that killed him."

"I thought so too, but I'm beginning to get a change of mind."

"What did you see?"

"First off, I didn't see Elsword die first hand. We all got separated in the middle of the fight, but I managed to regroup with Chung. While we were fighting, there was this huge explosion towards the east. We turned and saw a huge pillar of fire and debris was falling everywhere."

"Uh huh…" Rena took another bite, her pointed ears twitching as she listened intently to his account.

"The whole time, the slime mages had never cast any spell that looked like that. Most of what they did were small fireballs and an occasional explosive magic spell, but not a huge fire spell like that."

Rena leaned forward as she took yet another bite.

"I didn't want this, but…" Raven took a deep breath as he paused. "I think foul play might've been involved here."

"Raven!" Rena shouted suddenly.

"Shh! Shh!" Raven tried to quiet her.

"What are you saying!?" She whispered. "Are you saying one of our own killed Elsword?"

"I didn't want to say it…"

"So why did you?"

"Because the possibility keeps staring me in the face!" Raven's resolute tone sends a shockwave across Rena's face, causing her to back down.

"But… who would do this and why?"

"Neither I nor Chung saw Elsword die with our own eyes. And you were incapacitated behind a rock."

"So you're saying it's… Aisha?"

Raven nodded. "Possibly," he added. "Don't want to assume things too quickly. But, do you notice how Aisha hasn't really talked to us in these past days?"

"Yeah but, isn't that normal? When grief strikes people will often want to be alone or silent."

"Yeah, but for this long? Even Chung started talking just a day after it happened."

"Look… You know her feelings for him…" Rena's voice was soft and pleading.

Raven gulped. He didn't take that into account. How could he have missed such a thing?

"She… She loved him. She loved him the way I love you."

Raven pursed his lips, hunger finally driving him to take a bite out of his oatmeal that had long grown cold. The memory was still clear, like looking into a glass-like pool that recited the vision. Aisha had confessed her love for Elsword a few years ago, only to find out that he was already with someone. He didn't even have the courtesy of telling her who, which further damaged her already broken heart.

"Yeah… I remember," came Raven's reminiscent voice. Rena smiled sadly when her husband finally began to eat. "I've never seen that chirpy girl look sad. Even now… She hasn't been the same since that rejection."

"You got to give it to her though. Even now she shows him just how much she loves him, even if it's just as a friend."

Raven huffed, finishing his bowl. "We'll see about that."

The man got up and placed both of their dishes in the sink, quickly washing them with a sponge and placing them in the dish holder.

"What are you gonna do now?" Rena asked.

"I'm gonna go find her," Raven said resolutely. Rena nodded, this time in agreement. She gently took his hand and leaned forward, leaving a gentle kiss on his lips.

"I'll go with you." He nodded at her. Rena took his hand again and the two of them went out the door.

Chung had joined them on the way, voicing the same suspicions that Raven had voiced.

"She doesn't want to talk to me. Not to you. Not to Rena," he ranted as they walked along the road. "To me, she's way over the line."

They walked all over town. Surely someone had seen her, but no one had a clue to the whereabouts of their magician. Even Edel had not seen her, and she had a huge window in her office overlooking the whole town. It wasn't until they got to the guards at the outer rims of the city did they finally get a lead.

"Oh, yeah I've seen her," the sentry answered. "Purple hair and somewhat skimpy clothing? Yeah, I saw her leave not less than thirty minutes ago."

A look of alarm spread on their faces. Raven stepped forward.

"Towards where?"

"Northeast towards the dead forests."

"Thank you."

The trio came back to the place they fought. Faded rocks littered the landscape, pale will o wisps smoking where their life essences once burned. As he took it all in, the memories of the fight came flooding back in. Raven grunted in pain as the vision invaded his mind. The separation. The heat. The uncertainty. Then… the tragedy. His head swam, along with the world around him. Rena came to his aid, bringing a tin can of water to his lips. Raven gratefully took it, drinking half and offering the rest to Chung.

"That's bad news…" Chung said after he finished the canteen. "I don't know… It's just… Like an omen, you know?"

"Don't say things like that," Rena commanded sharply. No one said anything after that; only the rustling of the barren trees and the eerie whistling of the wind through the branches could be heard. It wasn't until the horizon revealed an uncanny figure in the distance did any of them speak again.

"It's her…" Raven gulped. The three drew closer, hearts pumping and hands staying close to their weapons should things get ugly.

"Aisha!" The swordsman called out to her. No response. The girl just stood there with her back turned towards them, her clothes swaying in the hot, dry wind.

"Aisha!" Again Raven called out to her. "We just want to talk to you!"

"So you finally figured it out," came her eerie, voice. A shockwave of fear struck the three at the sound of her voice. It didn't sound like Aisha at all. It was dry, and hollow, and threatening. Nothing like that bubbly, adorable Aisha they thought they knew. Raven couldn't believe it. Could this really be her? Could this have been the trusted companion that has saved his hide in battle so many times?

If his emotions and gut feelings were an instrument panel, then all controls were going wild. Like something nearby was causing them all to go haywire. But all his years of training and military experience had allowed him to maintain a stone-faced expression. If she really was the one who caused the death of one of their own, then he wasn't about to crumble before her. Not now, when Elsword needed him the most.

The sound of Aisha's eerie laughter brought him barreling out of his thoughts. It started as a chuckle, which then trickled to a giggle, eventually avalanching to a full-on maniacal cackle.

They all stared at the scene before them, watching in disbelief as a girl they thought they knew unraveled before them. The spread her arms out like she was in a ballet dance, twirling as slowly as the wind around them. Her movements kept them in a trance, and it was as if they could hear the slow tune of the harp that fueled her moves. It was… eerie. And it all felt wrong.

"He had it coming~" She began to sing. "He had it coming~ He only _had_ himself to blame~" Notes dribbled from her lips like the smooth bubbling of a creek. "If you'd have been there. If you'd have seen it!"

*Stomp.*

Violently she whirled her head towards her audience of three, eyeing them with those insane eyes of hers. Chung felt a chill down his spine when he stared into the void of her pupils, feeling as if they would suck him into whatever hell they were gatekeepers of should he look too long.

"You know that you would have done the same!"

Her voice echoed all around the wilderness, carrying it a derange yet commanding tone.

"Aisha, stop this!"

"Stop what, Raven?" She feigned innocence, holding her wand in a girly way. "I was just having my little dance and song, and you come along with your band to ruin everything!"

"Aisha…"

The girl frowned, eyeing Raven with a disdainful gaze. "He deserved it, anyway…"

Raven shook his head, reality hit him like a bullet in the chest. "All this for an unrequited love?"

The disdain on her face turned into disgust. The girl stood her ground indignantly, raising her wand in an accusatory manner towards him. "Oh, don't you talk to me about unrequited love, Raven! You don't know what it feels like!"

Raven's breath caught as if another bullet had just passed him, dumbfounded at the girl's outburst.

"You don't know what it feels like to pour your love out to someone only for them to trample all over it! You don't know!"

"Aisha please…" Rena tried to calm her.

"You killed Elsword!" Shouted Chung.

"Chung, stop!" Raven tried to restrain him. But before he could stop him, Chung drew his revolvers and shot, hitting Aisha twice in the head. After the shots went off, Raven quickly restrained Chung by both of his arms.

Aisha's body began falling backward, and Rena screamed.

And all was silent, except for the rustling of the barren trees and the eerie whistling of the wind through the branches.


End file.
